These Two Brothers Went Viral After Getting Accepted To College. Now, Ellen Learns Just How Amazing They Are.

An inspiring story to say the least.

Late last year, brothers Ayrton and Alex Little went viral after videos of the pair getting accepted to college went viral. Ayrton, 16, will be attending Harvard University, and his 18-year-old brother, Alex, will head to Stanford University. Both received full scholarships.

More recently, Ellen DeGeneres invited both of the brothers to her show to find out about what led them to be accepted at their dream schools and to acknowledge how their single mother, Maureen, raised them through some difficult times.

"You were on the verge of being homeless for most of your lives, you spent years in a home with no heat, no food," Ellen says. "You would leave the oven burners on to keep you warm at night. Your younger brother passed away a couple of years ago, and through all of this, you maintained the highest GPAs in your class. That is amazing."

"Education was my ticket out," Alex responds. "I knew that I was smart, I was able to get good grades. [So] I said I'm going to work as hard as I can to do this ... I know one thing [my mom] says all the time is that no matter what [she] was going through, no matter what bills were being unpaid, or how our situation was, [she] knew [she] was coming home to kids who weren't out getting into who-knows-what, and they had good grades. That's something she was proud to be able to say. No matter what was going on."

Later, just when you think these brothers couldn't be any more inspiring, Ayrton and Alex talk about their future goals. Ayrton says he dreams of getting a job on Wall Street and using his money to start a nonprofit that will help other students going through difficult times reach their goals, too. Alex then explains that he hopes to work in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields, and then start his own nonprofit that will provide students with the resources they need to better understand STEM subjects. Alex also adds that this will help younger students focus their energy on positive goals rather than elsewhere.

"Y'all are amazing," Ellen says. And before the interview is up, Ellen surprises the brothers with gifts to deck out their dorm rooms, and Maureen with a check for $20,000.